"We have a problem with this, and that is central bank hubris. They now think that they are omnipotent, because, essentially the government has said we are going to pass over all control of the economy to the central banks, they say to everybody else including financial market participants that “you don’t know, you don’t understand, we have our models and they are right”. And that kind of hubristic approach is when you sow the seeds of your own destruction."

Looking back at the Lehman Brothers collapse of 2008, it’s amazing how quickly it all happened. In hindsight there were a few early-warning signs, but the true scale of the disaster publicly unfolded only in the final moments before it became apparent that Lehman was doomed. Could this happen to Deutsche Bank?

While we are now well aware of the unpatriotic-ness of tax inversions, Goldman Sachs raises the red flag on another corporate action that is about to become highly politicized - share buybacks. The last (and only) pillar of buying left in the US equity markets is set to draw political attention and likely to gain prominence, particularly ahead of the 2016 election.

When in a hole, stop digging. But when in a bubble, keep blowing. Our ruling and wealthy elite are worried that they are stuck in their own ponzi scheme or bubble and are suffering from the general problem of all ponzis and bubbles – how to get out.

In what looks like the latest threat to the US taxpayer stemming from the government's trillion-dollar student loan portfolio, VC-backed tech startups are using attractive refi offers to siphon off the best loans, leaving taxpayers with a book full of IBR enrollees and severely delinquent borrowers who aren't even thinking about making payments.

From Greek lobbyists to Silicon Valley VCs and from Goldman BSDs to FT reporters, The Bilderberg Group will meet later this week in Tirol to discuss what happens next to the rest of the world... here are the participants...

David Nicholls: “Banks do not collude to try to set a Libor rating. “I think I am just hearing a lot of hysteria about Libor that is just misinformed."John Ewan: “A cabal of them could.”Nicholls: “What’s a cabal?” Ewan: “A group together could."Nicholls: “That’s an interesting conspiracy theory."

The highly regarded former chairman of the Federal Reserve, Paul Volcker, has severely criticized the State Governments in the U.S. over “faulty practices” used to devise budgets which mask the true financial position of those states.

China's trade balance surged once again, spiking to near the highest on record according to data released this weekend, driven by a collapse in imports (and a roughly in line export print). Exports dropped 2.5% YoY, dropping for the 4th month of last 5 but it was Imports that createred. Down a stunning 18.1% YoY (the 5th drop in a row) China imports collapse reflects both volume and price effects and crucially, as Goldman notes, volume effects may be even more critical. Hidden deep inside the data, China exposed the oil market's greatest fear - it appears to be done restocking its SPR.

Emboldened by its recent “unprecedented” prosecutorial success, the DoJ will now pursue a fresh round of MBS-related settlements with banks that knowingly packaged and sold shoddy CDOs. Banks expected to settle in coming months include Barclays PLC, Credit Suisse Group AG, Deutsche Bank AG, HSBC Holdings PLC, Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC,UBS AG and Wells Fargo & Co.

Moments ago, the biggest single employer in the US after the Federal government, with 2.2 million workers, surprised its shareholders when it announced that Rob Walton, who had served as Chairman of the Board since 1992, was stepping down (he will stay on as a director) and would be replaced with vice-Chairman Greg Penner, grandson of founder Sam and son in law of Rob, who started his career at Goldman Sachs before joining WMT as a management trainee.